official sponsor

Drakes Pride manufacture and distribute level and crown green bowls equipment in Liverpool and supports the Bowls England Club of the Year competition.

The Company's history can be traced back as far as 1820 to Darlington's of Liverpool who used the Drakes Pride name throughout their history, evidenced by the Company's registered trade mark. In the 1960's, the family business of E.A. Clare & Son took over Darlingtons and in the early 1980's decided to expand into the manufacture of Lawn Bowls.

The wood being turned to produce bowls (Lignum Vitae) was disappearing at that time and the industry turned to Phenolic Thermoset to produce composition Bowls. To improve accuracy Drakes Pride invested heavily in state of the art machinery and in 1982 become the first bowls manufacturer in the world to use computer controlled lathes. This machinery together with diamond tipped tooling enabled the company to manfacture bowls more accurate and consitent than it's competitors.

Over the years, Drakes Pride bowls have been used by bowlers around the world at of all levels of the game including many World Champions and Commonwealth Gold medalists. It continues to work with top ranking players to further develop its products.

Through a network of appointed stockists Drakes Pride offer not only bowls but a vast selection of clothing and accessories. The full range of products is continually being reviewed and improved.